Sakoontala or the Lost Ring eBook

Soon shall thy lord prefer thee to the
rank
Of his own consort; and unnumbered cares
Befitting his imperial dignity
Shall constantly engross thee. Then
the bliss
Of bearing him a son—­a noble
boy,
Bright as the day-star, shall transport
thy soul
With new delights, and little shalt thou
reck
Of the light sorrow that afflicts thee
now
At parting from thy father and thy friends.

[[S’]AKOONTALA
throws herself at her foster-father’s feet.

KANWA.

Blessings on thee, my child! May all my hopes
of thee be realized!

[S’]AKOONTALA [Approaching
her friends.

Come, my two loved companions, embrace me both of
you together.

PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA. [Embracing
her.

Dear [S’]akoontala, remember, if the King should
by any chance be slow in recognizing you, you have
only to show him this ring, on which his own name
is engraved.

[S’]AKOONTALA.

The bare thought of it puts me in a tremor.

PRIYAMVADA AND ANASUYA.

There is no real cause for fear, dearest. Excessive
affection is too apt to suspect evil where none exists.

[S’]AKOONTALA.

Come, lady, we must hasten on. The sun is rising
in the heavens.

[S’]AKOONTALA. [Looking
towards the hermitage.

Dear father, when shall I ever see this hallowed grove
again?

KANWA.

I will tell thee; listen:—­

When thou hast passed a long and blissful
life
As King Dushyanta’s queen, and jointly
shared
With all the earth his ever-watchful care;
And hast beheld thine own heroic son,
Matchless in arms, united to a bride
In happy wedlock; when his aged sire,
Thy faithful husband, hath to him resigned
The helm of state; then, weary of the
world,
Together with Dushyanta thou shalt seek
The calm seclusion of thy former home[72];
There amid holy scenes to be at peace,
Till thy pure spirit gain its last release.

GAUTAMI.

Come, my child, the favourable time for our journey
is fast passing. Let thy father return.
Venerable Sire, be thou the first to move homewards,
or these last words will never end.

KANWA.

Daughter, detain me no longer. My religious duties
must not be interrupted.

[S’]AKOONTALA. [Again embracing
her foster-father.

Beloved father, thy frame is much enfeebled by penitential
exercises. Do not, oh! do not, allow thyself to
sorrow too much on my account.

KANWA.
[Sighing.

How, O my child, shall my bereaved heart
Forget its bitterness, when, day by day,
Full in my sight shall grow the tender plants
Reared by thy care, or sprang from hallowed grain
Which thy loved hands have strewn around the door—­
A frequent offering to our household gods[73]?